Grats

This episode Mud talks about where he stands with the Blizzard lawsuit as well as a message from Polly. Also Mud talks about his battle with mental health issues and how the community helped him. He is also launching a new, yet unnamed podcast in the future to discuss mental health.

# Episode 14 - Core Calamity ## News Patch 9.1 is finally out after a long content drought. Welcome back to the players that took a break or went to play other games. We drew our winner of our 6 month anniversary contest and @KrucifixxA won. They also won a contest over at Wow What the Bell? Maybe it's time to buy a lottery ticket. They were also our latest review, so maybe leaving reviews brings luck into your life. Polly is still out of the country, which means that there might be weird background noise in today's podcast. However, not only will she be back before our next episode, but we will be on our way across the country. If you want to see pictures, videos, animal shenanigans, and more, check out our Adventures of Polly and Mud channel at discord.io/Grats ## Our week in WoW ### Polly * Midsummer Fire Festival Hearthstone. I am really behind on the holiday hearthstones. * Adventurer of Bastion * Explore Korthia. I'm totally stoked about 9.1! I'm really enjoying Korthia and the new quests. I'm all about lore and quests. * I'm also excited about the new six month subscription mount! ### Mud * Finally got my Midsummer Fire Festival Hearth Stone. Aside from the purchaseable headpiece and Frostlord Ahune's Scythe. I am done with the holiday until something else is added. * Adventurer of Bastion * Sanctum Superior * The Anima Must Flow * Dedication to restoration ## What did Mud miss? Way back in the Gnomeregan Dungeon I failed to list Friender the blue Mechanowolf that is tameable by hunters. * To get this mechanopupper you'll need to enter Gnomeregan and jump down at the Hall of Gears, head to the Launch Bay and jump down there too. Then go to the Engineering Labs. * In the Engineering Labs take the elevator down to the lower level. You'll see Friender sleeping in the middle of the room. * On three of the walls you'll see a series of buttons. 6, 7, and 8 buttons. To solve the puzzle you'll have to make all of the buttons light up. When you press a button you'll toggle the lights on the button you push as well as the buttons adjacent to them. * Once all of the puzzles are solved Friender will become hostile and start running around the room. Pop Aspect of the Turtle and Tame Beast in order to survive the taming of Friender. # Main ## Raid: Molten Core When you return to Blackrock Mountain, head to the island chained in the air. From there you'll be able to climb down it and talk to Lothos Riftwalker. Or just fly. During this raid you'll get reputation with the Hydraxian Waterlords. This raid was the first end game content avalible in WoW. It was originally not going to be released when WoW shipped at first, so the dev team finished this raid in less than a week. ### Lore Bite: The Molten Core is where Dark Iron Emperor Thaurissan accidentally summoned the Firelord, Ragnaros. The burning lake where Ragnaros rests connects directly to the plane of fire which allows his elementals to pass through. ### Achievements: There are only two achievements in this Raid that is [Molten Core]([https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=686/molten-core]) for defeating Ragnaros and [So Hot Right Now]([https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=11741/so-hot-right-now]) for collecting any of the class armor sets from Molten Core As you go into the instance, follow the path and go over the bridges. This will take you into a cave with corehounds and flame imps. The last area of this cave will have our first two bosses, Lucifron and Magmadar. They're both quick fights. Just make sure that when you kill the corehounds, you let them despawn before you pull another group as it will bring them back to life. Head out the way you came in and back over the bridges. You're going to turn left and head down the slope to our next two bosses. First the flamewalker Gehennas and then Garr. Garr has a chance to drop the right half of Thunderfury Blessed Blade of the Windseeker. Head along the path and into the next chamber. There you'll meet Baron Geddon patrolling around this zone. He drops the left side of Thunderfury Blessed Blade of the Windseeker. Move on the the outcropping of the room and kill Sulfuron Harbinger. Head up the hill until you see a cliff you can jump down on the left. When you jump down you'll come across Golemagg the Incinerator. Slap him around a bit until he dies. But now you're going to have to climb your way back up. Instead of going forward up to Majordomo Executus take the path down and to right and go around to the left. There you'll run into Sulfuron Harbinger and his friends. Take care of them and... Now go back up the way you came down and continue up the hill. There you'll meet Ragnaros' second-in-command. Kill his minions and he says he will meet you at Ragnaros. To get to Ragnaros you'll have to back track almost all the way back to the beginning. But, instead of heading up the hill, follow the cavern around to the right. You can choose to run all the way around the spiral where there is land.... or jump in the lava and try not to die. Once you get to the center you can talk to Executus and have him summon Ragnaros so you can defeat him. ### Pets The battle pets avalible in Molten Core weren't there when WoW launched. They were added in patch 5.1 and are part of the [Raiding with Leashes](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=7934/raiding-with-leashes) achievement. The pets you want to look out for are: #### Rewards * Corefire Imp - Drops from Magmadar * Harbinger of Flame - Drops from Sulfuron Harbinger * Ashtone Core - Drops from Golemagg the Incinerator ### Notable Rare Drops * Luciferon * Sorcerous Dagger - a simple dagger with a green glow * Magmadar * Obsidian Edged Blade - a large 2h sword with a glowing gem by the hilt * Flameguard gauntlets - plate hands that are gold and pink * Gehennas * Robes of Volatile Power - a pink chest piece with a leaf pattern on the bottom * Garr * Aurastone Hammer - A 1h hammer engulfed in light * Gutgore Ripper - An orange dagger with a purple hilt and faint black smoke surrounding it * Drillborer Disk - a simple spiky shield with a lava animation going around the outside * The right side of Bindings of the Windseeker * Barron Geddon * The left side of Bindings of the Windseeker * Sulfuron Harbinger * Shadowstrike and Thunderstrike - Polearms that when used turn into each other * Golemagg the Incinerator * Staff of Dominance - Has a purple gem that glows occasionally and lightning bolts come out of it * Majordomo Executus * Finkle's Lava Dredger - A geared 1h mace with a wind up key on the side * Ragnaros * Eye of Sulfuras - a reagent to make the Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros mace * Illusion: Flametongue * Crown of Destruction - a red gem with fire going around it * Tailoring Pattern - Clothes Chest: Molten Core. Temporary costumes inside are: * Arcanist Regalia * Vestments of Prophecy * Felheart Rainment ### Extras https://mashthosebuttons.com/podcast/the-tauren-the-goblin-se-on-thunderfury-blessed-blade-of-the-windseeker/ ## Raid: Blackwing Descent This raid is accessed by flying up to the balcony on the side of the mountain. Make sure you run this on heroic so you can get the heroic achievements as well as the mechanic achievements. ### Lore Bite: Deathwing resurrected his son Nefarian. Nefarian is using Blackwing Descent to create a new flight of Black Dragons. Inside of this raid we find Nefarian and his twisted experiments. For more about the lore, check out Episodes 87 and 88 of Dungeon Fables. Ali does a great job of explaining all of the bosses. ### Achievements: First thing, you are going to head to the left when you enter the instance, kill some adds, and then take on Magmaw our first boss of Blackwing Descent. He's a giant lava worm. * [Heroic Magmaw](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=5094/heroic-magmaw) - Kill Magmaw on Heroic mode. * [Parasite Evening](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=5306/parasite-evening) - To earn the Parasite Evening achievement you need to down Magmaw without anyone in the raid becoming infected with a parasite. * At max level this is cake; just burn down the boss. * If you plan on doing this raid at level, kill the parasites quickly before they can infect someone. After Killing Magmaw, cross the foyer and head to Omnotron Defense System. These golems were created by the Dark Iron Dwarves. All four golems share a health pool and two will be up at any given time. * [Heroic: Omnotron Defense System](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=5107/heroic-omnotron-defense-system) - Kill the Omnotron Defense System on heroic mode. * [Achieve-a-tron](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=5307/achieve-a-tron) - Defeat the Omnotron Defense System in Blackwing Descent while neutralizing the following attacks: Static Shock, Arcane Annihilator, Poison Bomb, and only one player hit by each flame thrower. * At max level just make sure you avoid those attacks and burn down one of the golems since they all share a health pool. * At raid level you'll need to interrupt Arcane Annihilator from Arcanotron, and kite the bombs from other raid members for Poison Bomb. Static Shock only happens if you hit Electron while Unstable Shield is active. For Flame Thrower just make sure that the player that is marked with 'Acquiring Target' turns Magmatron away from the rest of the raid. Head back to the foyer and go north, but be careful of the elevator boss which is known to take down the best achievement hunters. Once you're down on the main level, head to the east to take on Maloriak. Maloriak was a human alchemist that Nefarian kidnapped and fused with the corpse of a dragon. When you kill Maloriak you will get the best title in the game. (Name), Slayer of Stupid, Incompetent and Disappointing Minions. Sadly this title is missing the Oxford comma after Incompetent. It shows up as a debuff with a thumbs up and you only get it for 30 minutes. * [Heroic Maloriak](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=5108/heroic-maloriak) - Kill Maloriak on heroic mode. * [Aberrant Behavior](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=5310/aberrant-behavior) - Kill 12 Aberrations within 10 seconds on the Maloriak encounter in Blackwing Descent. * At max level hit Maloriak until he is down to 25%. Wait until you have 12 Aberrations up then AoE them down. Since they've reduced how much damage we do in older content that actually works in our favor. Head back out to the circle and go north to Artramedes. Be sure to kill the dragons on the way. Before you engage Atramedes you will have eight Dark Iron Dwarf spirits to kill. You are treated to little cutscene between Maloriak and Nefarian in his humanoid form Lord Victor Nefarius. Atramedes is also knows as Experiment 25463-D which might lead you to wonder how many experiments Nefarian has run. This dragon is a failed attempt at giving a black whelp enhanced senses. The salve robbed him of sight, but it did give him a better sense of hearing and smelling. * [Heroic: Atramedes](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=5109/heroic-atramedes#) - Kill Atramedes on Heroic mode. * [Silence is Golden](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=5308/silence-is-golden#) - Defeat Atramedes in Blackwing Descent without any raid member's sound bar going over 50%. * At max level you can just burn Atramedes down and your sound bar will stay at 0. * If you're doing this raid at level then things are a little trickier. You have to make sure that people in your group don't get hit by the AoE. If a raid member's sound bar gets close to 50% you can reset the bar and stun Atramedes for a brief period of time. Head back out of the room and go to the western chamber. You'll find a sleeping Chimaeron and Finkle Einhorn (a reference to the movie Ace Ventura), the gnome stuck in a cage. If you'd like to talk to him there's a fun exchange; just make sure not to wake the boss. * [Heroic: Chimaeron](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=5115/heroic-chimaeron) - Kill Chimaeron on Heroic Difficulty * [Full of Sound and Fury](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=5309/full-of-sound-and-fury) - Kill Chimaeron in Blackwing Descent with no more than 2 raid member deaths. * At max level there's no challenge just burst him down. * If you do this at level it's quite challenging and I would recommend using a 10 person group. One tank should tank during the phases where Bile-o-tron is up. During the phases, that last anywhere from 2-5 seconds, the tanks should alternate aggro to the one that doesn't have stacks of Break. Continue switching back and forth after stacks fall off. Take Chimaeron down to 21%, top everyone up on health, wait for the next Feud phase, and then burn him as quickly as possible the rest of the way down. Good luck. Head back north and you'll see a winged orb with green lines coming out of it called the Orb of Culmination. You're going to have to use this before the boss will spawn. You're going to want to head back south, but make sure you take the stairs down. You'll see Lord Victor Nefarius on the balcony resurrecting Onyxia. From the balcony you have a clear jump down to a pillar to kill Onyxia, and then Nefarian. * Heroic: Nefarian - Defeat Nefarian in Blackwing Descent on Heroic Difficulty * Keeping it in the Family - Damage Nefarian below 50% before he lands for the final confrontation and then, defeat Nefarian in Blackwing Descent. * Jump down into the pit and don't hit Onyxia. Just keep running until Nefarian is in range. Once you can hit Nefarian, get him down to about 60% then you can kill Onyxia. Magma will rise from the floor. Make sure that you get up on the pillars. Take Nefarian's health down to about 40-45%. Wait for him to land after the lava recedes. After he lands, go ahead and burn him the rest of the way down. ### Pets * Tinytron drops off the Omnotron Defense System as a Rough-Hewn Remote. It's a miniature mechanical-type golem. * Experiment in a jar drops off of Maloriak giving you the Discarded Experiment pet. This is one of the cutest ugly things in game. * Nefarion drops a Shadowy Pile of Bones which lets you collect the Rattlejaw pet. \ ### Notable Rare Drops Warriors and Paladins both have decent plate sets that I quite like. Hunters can receive a Murloc skull head item from the class set from Nefarian. There is an updated Ashkandi on the Nefarion encounter, as well. I didn't find any of the other options all that appealing. Nefarion also drops a WoD music roll called: Legends of Azeroth as well a weapon Illusion: Power Torrent # This fortnight in WoW ## Calendar * Week 1 patch 9.1 - 2021/06/29 - 2021/07/06: * Players are able to start crafting their Rank 5/6 legendaries * Layer 9 of Torghast unlocks and awards Soul Cinders for rank 5/6 legendaries * Renown level 42 Max * Week 2 patch 9.1 - 2021/07/06 - 2021/07/13: * Renown level 43 unlocks a new soulbind row * Renown 44 Max * Sanctum of Domination Raid opens up for Normal and Heroic. * [Sanctum of Pineapples](https://tacticalairhorse.itch.io/sanctum-of-pineapples) is a great way to learn the new mechanics * Shards of Domination sockets open up which will upgrade gear * Layer 10 of Torghast unlocks * Season 2 of Shadowlands starts for Mythic+ and PvP - Season 1 rewards are no longer avalible * Dungeon item levels are increased by 26 item levels including Mythic+ * The new MegaDungeon Tazavesh, the Veiled Market opens * Pet Battle Bonus Event - 2021/07/06 - 2021/07/13 * On July 12th, battle the Squirt team in your WoD garrison. It's a super quick way to level up pets. * PvP Brawl: Temple of Hotmogu - 2021/07/06 - 2021/07/13 * Week 3 patch 9.1 - 2021/07/13 - 2021/07/20 * Sanctum of Domination Mythics opens and the race to World First starts * LFR wing 1 of Sanctum of Domination opens: The Tarragrue, Eye of the Jailer, and The Nine * Great Vault Loot upgrades to Season 2 item levels * Layer 11 of Torghast unlocks * Renown level 46 Max * unlocks flying * covenant mounts * More soulbind rows * World Quest item levels increase * New adventure table champion * Luminous Luminaries - 2021/07/13 - 2021/07/14 * Micro Holiday in the Abyssal Depths. * You'll find a submarine at /way 44.3, 36.1 and two NPCs there. * Swim around and find glowing sea creatures and bring them back to the submarine for study. You'll earn Luminescent Research Notes. * Make sure you watch out for the Whale Shark and turn your head lamp off when it is around. * Warlords Timewalking Dungeon Event - 2021/07/13 - 2021/07/20 * Will award Normal Sanctum of Domination loot for completing the quest # Outro ## Reviews Reviewed By Sirithe on 2021-06-26 Star Rating: 5 Gratz is a phenomenal show! Mud does excellent research and the information is laid out in a very clear and concise manner, this show is a must listen for any achievement hunter! If you’d like to leave a review for us that would be super helpful. It makes this podcast easier to find for other listeners, especially on iTunes and the Warcraft Radio Podcast Directory. Please also consider sharing it with your guilds and friends that play WoW. ## Shout outs `@lex_rants is a twitch streamer and content creator. You can find her @lex_rants on Twitter and TikTok as well as twitch.tv/Lex_Rants ` She streams Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday from 8-11 Eastern Standard time and she will be doing a charity stream conming up soon so make sure that you tune in for that. ## Contact information As always please feel free to reach out to us on Twitter @wowgrats, email us wowgrats@gmail.com, visit us on our website wowgrats.com, and join us on our discord server you can go to discord.io/grats we look forward to chatting with you there Thanks for joining us today, I'm Mud and I'm Polly and remember to celebrate your achievements no matter how large or small.

# Episode 13 - Molten Mayhem ## What did Mud miss? I made a mistake last episode and said the contest was ending on the 25th but will be announced on this episode airing on the 21st. I talked to Chromie to do some time travel into the future to pick a winner and announce them today but she was busy with all the press from the Folk and Fairy Tales of Azeroth. So you have a few more days to get on our Discord server at discord.io/Grats and tell us your favorite marine animal in our contest channel in order to enter. I will still pick a winner on the 25th and post the results in the Discord and on Twitter and announce them on the show two weeks from now. # Main Last episode we covered the Burning Steppes and the Blackrock Spire dungeons. This episode we are covering Blackrock Caverns, Blackrock Depths, Molten Core, and Blackrock Descent. ## Dungeon: Blackrock Caverns This dungeon entrance is a bit out of the way. It sits in between the entrances of Blackwing Lair and the Blackrock Spire dungeons. There's a middle hallway that you can go down to get to Blackrock Caverns. You'll have to go down a few ramps, but follow that path around and you'll get to the entrance no problem. This dungeon released during Cataclysm so luckily there are some achievements in here, but sadly no pets, mounts, or other collectables. ### Lore Bite: Deathwing carved out the Blackrock Caverns to help the Twilight's Hammer move elementals to the Blackrock Mountain. Blackrock Caverns is the Twilights Hammer's forge and where the experiements are conducted. ### Achievements: As you enter this dungeon, Finkle Einhorn is just to your left and will give you a quest if you haven't already done it. Cross the bridge and you'll see an archaeology buff quest there. They dropped those after Cataclysm, but it was a nice benefit to have when it was active. Our first boss, Rom'ogg Bonecrusher, is a patrolling boss. I prefer to kill the adds in the room, then go for the boss. He has our first achievement: [Crushing Bones and Cracking Skulls](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=5281/crushing-bones-and-cracking-skulls) and to get this achievement, you need to kill 10 Angered Earth Elementals in Blackrock Caverns on Heroic Difficulty. These elementals despawn after about 2 minutes, so you're better off coming in with a friend or 4. You're going to have to sit in his Quake ability at above 66% health to spawn the elementals. Then at 66% Rom'ogg will use Skullcracker and kill the elementals that are up. If you both get 3 each, that'll be a total of 6. Repeat this at about 35-40% and then have him smash the elementals with Skullcracker at 33%. If you have 2-3 sets per player, that will be enough to finish out this achievement. Go ahead and kill the boss. Using the Whole Body Shrinka is going to be your best friend here to reduce the amount of damage that you do. Release your new buddy Raz and follow him down the hallway. But don't jump off the edge with him. Jump down the rubble to the west and you'll see Corla, Herald of Twilight getting swirly energy. Make sure you don't kill her adds before you start the fight. [Arrested Development](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=5282/arrested-development) is our next achievement. You need to allow all three of Corla's zealots to evolve, then defeat Corla after slaying the evolved zealots in Blackrock Caverns on Heroic Difficulty. If you're doing this at max level, just pull the boss and let her Twilight Zealots evolve. Make sure you're not standing in between them and their energy. Once they evolve, kill each of them and then slay the boss. If you're doing this at level, you're going to want to have people swap out blocking the beams at about 75 stacks. Let one Zealot evolve at a time, killing them off before letting the next evolve. Everyone is going to have to take a turn taking stacks the first few rounds. Instance achievement tracker tracks this achievement, so you'll know if you've met the criteria. Just be careful tab targeting. You're going to turn away from Corla's corpse and walk down the hallway to a ramp. As you come down to the bridge you'll run into our buddy Raz who takes out Twilight Zealots for you. He's a solid friend except for the fact that he leaves before the next boss, Karsh Steelbender. This guy is a blacksmith for the Twilight's Hammer and uses the lava in the middle of the room to empower himself. Simply aggro Karsh in the lava and let him build up 15 stacks of Superheated Quicksilver Armor and kill the boss to get [Too Hot to Handle](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=5283/too-hot-to-handle#). You'll want to go up the rubble pile to the east where fire elementals and Twilight Obsidian Borers are casting these plasma beams. Over this mound and down to the right, you'll see some rotting meat. Head into that cavern to meet Beauty and her puppies. This is an optional boss but I always do it because I am a monster. Beauty stands there with Buster and Lucky proudly in front of her. But, if you notice at the back right of the cave there's a teeny tiny core hound named Runty. If you kill Runty that will put her in berserker mode. So if you're at max level go ahead and kill poor Runty first. Then her other babies and finally back to Beauty. I got her favorite bone which has a yellow glow to it. Sadly, she doesn't have any achievements; it's just fun to end a family. Speaking of which, last episode we killed a core hound named Beast in Upper Blackrock Spire. So we killed Beauty and Beast as well as their kids. We are monsters. Once you leave the cave, go down the ramp and Raz will come out to try to take out the end boss. He is not successful. Poor Raz, he was just trying to help. Our last boss, Ascendant Lord Obsidius, stands there. Obsidius will net you the last three achievements. First is [Ascendant Descending](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=5284/ascendant-descending): Defeat Ascendant Lord Obsidius without any party member reaching 4 stacks of Crepuscular Veil in Blackrock Caverns on Heroic Difficulty. If you're at max level you can just one shot him to get this achievement. If you're doing this at level one person needs to kites the adds in a circle around the boss and everyone else should be burning the boss. When you kill the boss you'll also get [Blackrock Caverns](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=4833/blackrock-caverns) and [Heroic: Blackrock Caverns](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=5060/heroic-blackrock-caverns) for completing the dungeon on Heroic Difficulty. Sadly, this dungeon doesn't have an easy way out, so you'll have to go all the way back up or hearth. ## Dungeon: Blackrock Depths Fly down to the lowest part of the cavern in the north west part and you'll see an entrance to a stone structure. Instead of talking to Lothos Riftwaker, head to the right into the tunnel. At the very end of the tunnel is the entrance to Blackrock Depths. Make sure you look out for a giant troll named The Behemoth on the way as well as Crystal Fang. Also, you might want to use the pet vendor outside or the vendors just inside the entrance to clear up your bags because there's a ton in here to loot. ### Lore Bite: Blackrock Depths is the home to the Dark Iron dwarves and their emperor. They loyally serve under Ragnaros, and the Depths connects directly to his home, the Molten Core. The Depths act as a factory to create life from stone with an army of Golems. The Dark Iron Dwarves and Ragnaros use this as a base of operations to in an attempt to expunge the black dragon flight from Blackrock Mountain. ### Achievements: There is only one achievement for this instance: [Blackrock Depths](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=642/blackrock-depths) where we kill Emperor Dagran Thaurissan. But, let's continue on with the walkthrough because this dungeon is complicated. There are many routes you can take, but this is what works for me. Pick up the quests if they're available in the room you're in, and then head straight across from the entrance. You're going to head across this open area toward a soldier. Go into the room next to him. Go straight down the corridor and you'll run into our first boss, High Interrogator Gerstahn. After you defeat her, you can either turn right around and go back up the corridor, or you can visit the tunnels around the edge of this area. Some of the cell doors are openable and you can talk to some of the prisoners. Once you're done heading out of this area, go across and to the right of the open area to get to our next few bosses. Use the tunnel to the right and head up to the arena to the left. Once you get into the center of the Ring of Law, the encounter will start. Once you kill the enemies in the Ring of Law, head to the south where you came in and continue on to the left. In this outer ring there is a patrolling elemental boss: Lord Roccor. After you defeat him, just keep going around the circle. There's a door on the inner part of the circle and in there you'll find Hound Master Grebmar. Once you kill him, that completes this part of the dungeon. But before you head to the rest of the dungeon, check out the view from the window across from the Hound Master's door. You'll have a view of the outside of Shadowforge City. Follow along with the ring to get back to the main area and head to the west. Go all the way to Bael'Gar, take him out and head back through the bars you just came through. Just inside that gate is a room to your left near Prospector Seymour. Head inside and remove the stopper from the gear. It'll close a giant door that acts as a bridge later. Go up both sets of stairs. This is the audience section of the Ring of Law you were in earlier. Go around the ring and down the stairs. In this room you will want to divert to the right; a Tauren mage, Pyromancer Loregrain, is begging to be turned into roast beef. As you turn around you're going to follow this corridor, across a catwalk (do get a good view of Shadowforge City again). In the next room follow the wall to the left. You'll come into a large open area. Follow the wall to the right. In the first room is the Black Vault. Kill Warder Stilgiss and his pet Verek. You'll finally get a chance to use all of those relic coffer keys to open the vaults in here. If you open all of the vaults the Warbringer Constructs will come to life. Back out of the vault and continue along the outside of the circle. Exit to the right into the Hall of Crafting. At the bottom of this area is Finneous Darkvire. Continue on to the anvil and face off with Lord Incendius. The way forward is blocked by the door we closed earlier so we are going to have to back track a bunch. Head back up through the Hall of Crafting and at the circle, exit through the door we first came in. Just keep going backwards around the Ring of Law and follow the path to the right this time. As you follow this corridor you'll walk across that bridge we made earlier by closing the doors. At the room that you exit into make sure you keep going south so you can kill General Angerforge. After he is dispatched, head back up the ramps and cross the room you're in to get to the Manufactory. Head straight through the room and take out Golem Lord Argelmach. There's a schematic for the Field Repair Bot 74A on the floor. When you exit his room you're going to head to the left toward the Grim Guzzler to the north east. Make sure you talk to Ribbly Screwspigot and defeat him on the bottom floor. To the left of Ribbly Screwspigot is a room with casks; make sure you kill them to spawn an encounter. If you hang out until 8pm, you can to watch the Elite Tauren Chieftians play. Start a brawl if you like, then exit to the northeast of the bar. Head for the first doorway on the left and follow the path around. Inside this area you'll find Ambassador Flamelash. Once he's dead, head over to the edge and look in front of you. After you're done sight seeing, exit to the north west. Panzor the Invincible is a rare that may spawn; if you get the chance, take him out. Otherwise follow the path in Mold Foundry and head to the Summoner's Tomb. In the Summoner's Tomb, we have Blizzard's take on the Seven Dwarves: Anger'rel, Gloom'rel, Hate'rel, Vile'rel, Seeth'rel, Doom'rel, and Dope'rel. If you're a miner, speak to Gloom'rel before you start the encounter to learn how to smelt Dark Iron. Challenge Doom'rel and the dwarves will come and attack you one at a time. Once you've defeated them exit through the door. To our right you can see some elementals guarding the entrance to Molten Core. Before you were attuned, this is how you had to get to Molten Core. Shooooo. Continue along your path and open the door to the Lyceum. At the far end of this room there are two pyres that need to be lit. Look for the Flame Bearer, in red armor, and light the pyres to open our next door. In this chamber we have a giant elemental named Magmus. Once you defeat him you'll enter the Emperor's chambers. As you work past his guards he will talk a little trash. If you clear the room High Priestess of Thaurassin will show up next to the Emperor. It used to be Moira before Cataclysm, but now that she's in Iron Forge she's been replaced. Once you defeat Emperor Dagran Thaurissan go ahead and take a turn on the throne. You've earned it. Once you're done go behind the throne for the portal back to the start... just kidding, you're gonna have to walk. Again you could follow directions backwards... but seriously it's easier to just hearth or port back to Iron Forge, clear your bags and fly back to Blackrock. You might noticice that this dungeon is lacking in pets and mounts but don't worry; it makes up for it in interesting drops from bosses. ### Notable Rare Drops There's a mail set called Savage Gladiator that different pieces drop from bosses. The helm does not match the rest of the set sadly. * Zone Drops: * Black Dragonscale Leggings (Leather recipe) * Black Dragonscale Shoulders (Leather recipe) * Dark Iron Sunderer (Blacksmith Axe recipe) * Dark Iron Bomb (Engineering recipe) * Dark Iron Rifle (Engineering recipe) * Field Repair Bot 74A (Engineering recipe) * Gnomish Alarm-o-Bot (Engineering recipe) - can show stealthed enemies * World Enlarger (Engineering recipe) * Gorosh the Dervish: * Flarethorn - Dagger that looks like a red hot poker. It even has a glowing end. * Grizzle * Dark Iron Pulverizer - (Blacksmith 2h Mace) * Fineous Darkvire * Master Builder's Shirt * Chief Architect's Monocle (cloth) * Foreman's Headpiece (plate) looks like a Stormwind helm but the blue is a baby blue * Pyromancer Loregrain * Fiery Weapon (enchanting formula) * Watchmaster Doomgrip * Wand of Eternal Light has a star on the end of it and it rains down sparkles * General Angerforge * Royal Decorated Armor (Mail Chest) * Hurley Blackbreath * Hurley's Tankard (1h mace mug) * Ragefury Eyepatch (leather) * Ribbly Screwspigot * Dark Iron Plate (Blacksmith) * Plugger Spazzring * Black Dragonscale Breastplate (Leatherworking Mail Chest) * Barman Shanker - Broken bottle dagger * Ambassador Flamelash * Flame Wrath - Firey Trident Polearm * Circle of Flame - A gem with flames circling around it (cloth) * The Seven * Ghost Shroud - White head wrap (Leather) * Magmus * Lavastone Hammer - spikey hammer (2h mace) * Emperor Dagran Thaurissan * Iron Foe - Hammer glowing with yellow light (1h mace) * Emperor's New Cape - invisible # This fortnight in WoW ## Calendar ### Midsummer Fire Festival 2021/06/21 - 2021/07/05 This festival is to celebrate the hottest season of the year in the northern hemisphere starting on the summer solstice. Bonfires are lit to rekindle people's spirits and ward off the ancient evils. Players travel around to their faction's bonfires and desecrate the bonfires of the opposing faction. As you travel around and complete the quests of honoring, desecrating, and stealing flames as well as completing the daily dungeon and other tasks, you earn Burning Blossoms which are holiday's currency. Also daily you can queue for the dungeon to destroy Frost Lord Ahune. #### Addons Candy Buckets will point you in the right direction toward all of the fires that you'll be putting out and honoring during the Midsummer Fire Festival. The waypoints drop off the map as you use the fire completing the quests. TomCat's AddOn Suite I believe also has this functionality but I haven't checked it yet. It's a great addon in it's own right for rare mobs and other events. Check it out. There's more about TomCat in the shoutout section. We are listing the location of all of the flames in the show notes and on the website. Eastern Kingdoms ``` /way Ghostlands 47 25 (H) /way Eversong Woods 46.3 50.3 (H) /way Silvermoon City 70 43 (H) /way Tirisfal Glades 57 52 (H) /way Undercity 68 9 (H) /way Silverpine Forest 49 38 (H) /way Hillsbrad Foothills 54.5 49.8 (H) /way Blasted Lands 46 14 (H) /way Blasted Lands 55.3 15 (A) /way Badlands 18.7 55.8 (A) /way Badlands 24 37.14 (H) /way Western Plaguelands 29, 57 (H) /way Western Plaguelands 43.5 82.6 (A) /way Hinterlands 76.6 74.6 (H) /way Hinterlands 14.5 49.9 (A) /way Arathi Highlands 69.2 42.9 (H) /way Arathi Highlands 44.6 46.2 (A) /way Burning Steppes 51.4 29 (H) /way Burning Steppes 68.5 60.2 (A) /way Dun Morogh:Eastern Kingdoms 53.7 44.9 (A) /way Ironforge 64 25 (A) /way Loch Modan 32 40 (A) /way Wetlands 13.3 47.1 (A) /way Westfall 45 62 (A) /way Duskwood 73.3 54.8 (A) /way Elwynn Forest 43 63 (A) /way Stormwind City 49 72 (A) /way Redridge Mountains 24.5 53.8 (A) /way Northern Stranglethorn 51.7 63.3 (A) /way Northern Stranglethorn 40.7 51.8 (H) /way The Cape of Stranglethorn 51.8 67.5 (A) /way The Cape of Stranglethorn 50.5 70.6 (H) /way Swamp of Sorrows 76.6 14.1 (H) /way Swamp of Sorrows 70.2 14.5 (A) ``` Kalimdor ``` /way Teldrassil 54.7 52.8 (A) /way Winterspring 61.4 47.1 (A) /way Winterspring 58.1 47.3 (H) /way Azuremyst Isle 44.7 52.5 (A) /way The Exodar 41 26 (A) /way Bloodmyst Isle 55.9 68.3 (A) /way Ashenvale 86.8 41.5 (A) /way Ashenvale 52 66.7 (H) /way Darkshore 48.9 22.6 (A) /way Azshara:Kalimdor 60 53 (H) /way Desolace 65.9 16.9 (A) /way Desolace 26.2 77.2 (H) /way Durotar 52 47.2 (H) /way Orgrimmar 46.2 37.6 (H) /way Dustwallow Marsh 62 40.4 (A) /way Dustwallow Marsh 33.3 30.8 (H) /way Feralas 46.6 43.7 (A) /way Feralas 72.4 47.6 (H) /way Mulgore 52 59.5 (H) /way Thunder Bluff 21.5 27 (H) /way Silithus:Kalimdor 60.5 33 (A) /way Silithus:Kalimdor 50.8 41.5 (H) /way Stonetalon Mountains 52.9 62 (H) /way Stonetalon Mountains 50 51 (A) /way Northern Barrens 49.8 54.4 (H) /way Southern Barrens 48.3 72.4 (A) /way Southern Barrens 40.7 67.4 (H) /way Un'goro Crater 59, 63 (A) /way Un'goro Crater 56, 66 (H) /way Tanaris 52.6 30 (A) /way Tanaris 49.8 28.1 (H) ``` Outlands ``` /way Blade's Edge Mountains 41.7 66 (A) /way Blade's Edge Mountains 50.0 59.0 (H) /way Hellfire Peninsula 62 58.3 (A) /way Hellfire Peninsula 57.2 41.8 (H) /way Nagrand:Outland 49.7 69.7 (A) /way Nagrand:Outland 51 34 (H) /way Netherstorm 31.1 62.3 (A) /way Netherstorm 32.3 68.3 (H) /way Shadowmoon Valley:Outland 39.5 54.4 (A) /way Shadowmoon Valley:Outland 33.4 30.3 (H) /way Terokkar Forest 54.2 55.6 (A) /way Terokkar Forest 51.9 43.2 (H) /way Zangarmarsh 68.6 52.1 (A) /way Zangarmarsh 35.5 51.7 (H) ``` Northrend ``` /way Borean Tundra 55 20 (A) /way Borean Tundra 51 11 (H) /way Crystalsong Forest 77 75 (A) /way Crystalsong Forest 80 52 (H) /way Dragonblight 75 43 (A) /way Dragonblight 38.5 48.2 (H) /way Howling Fjord 57.7 15.8 (A) /way Howling Fjord 48.4 13.4 (H) /way Grizzly Hills 34.1 60.6 (A) /way Grizzly Hills 19.1 61.5 (H) /way Sholazar Basin 47.8 66.3 (A) /way Sholazar Basin 47.3 61.5 (H) /way Storm Peaks 41.4 87 (A) /way Storm Peaks 40.3 85.6 (H) /way Zul'Drak 40.5 61 (A) /way Zul'Drak 43.3 71.4 (H) ``` Cataclysm ``` /way Twilight Highlands 47 28 (A) /way Twilight Highlands 53 46 (H) /way Uldum:Kalimdor 53 32 (A) /way Uldum:Kalimdor 53 34 (H) /way Mount Hyjal 62.8 23 (N) /way Shimmering Expanse 49.3 41.9 (N) ``` Pandaria ``` /way Jade Forest:Pandaria 47 47 (N) /way Valley of the Four Winds 51 51 (N) /way Krasarang Wilds 77.54, 3.57 (N) /way Dread Wastes 56 69 (N) /way Townlong Steppes 71 56 (N) /way Kun Lai Summit 71 91 (N) /way Vale of Eternal Blossoms:Pandaria 79 37 (A) /way Vale of Eternal Blossoms:Pandaria 77 34 (H) ``` Horde Draenor ``` /way Frostfire Ridge 72.58 65.02 (H) /way Gorgrond 43.9 93.7 (H) /way Nagrand:Draenor 80.49 47.76 (H) /way Talador 43.43 71.79 (H) /way Spires of Arak 47.98, 44.66 (H) /way Shadowmoon Valley:Draenor 42.62 35.95 (A) ``` Alliance Draenor ``` /way Shadowmoon Valley:Draenor 42.6 36.1 (A) /way Talador 43.47 71,84 (A) /way Spires of Arak 48 44.67 (A) /way Nagrand:Draenor 80.55 47.68 (A) /way Gorgrond 43.91 93.77 (A) /way Frostfire Ridge 72.58 65.02 (H) ``` Broken Aisles ``` /way Azsuna 48.25, 29.70 (N) /way Highmountain: Broken Isles 55.50, 84.45 (N) /way Val'Sharah 44.88, 57.93 (N) /way Stormheim 32.51, 42.14 (N) /way Suramar 30.40, 45.40 (H) /way Suramar 22.85, 58.30 (A) ``` Battle for Azeroth ``` /way Nazmir 40.04 74.30 (H) /way Vol'dun 56.00 47.75 (H) /way Zuldazar 53.31 48.11 (H) /way Drustvar 40.22 47.61 (A) /way Stormsong Valley 35.85 51.32 (A) /way Tirisgarde Sound 76.36 49.94 (A) ``` #### Achievements Almost all of the achievements are faction based. So I am going to list the Alliance achievements, but just substitute 'Flame Warden of' for 'Extinguishing' and vice versa for Horde. This is less about Alliance bias and more about Mud being lazy. * [Extinguishing Zandalar](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=13343/extinguishing-zandalar) - Desecrate the Horde's bonfires in Zandalar * [Extinguishing the Broken Isles](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=11278/extinguishing-the-broken-isles) - Desecrate the Horde's bonfires in the Broken Isles * [Extinguishing Draenor](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=11276/extinguishing-draenor) - Desecrate the Horde's bonfire in Frostfire Ridge * [Extinguishing Pandaria](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=8042/extinguishing-pandaria) - Desecrate the Horde's bonfire in Pandaria's Vale of Eternal Blossoms * [Extinguishing Northrend](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=6007/extinguishing-northrend) - Desecrate the Horde's bonfires in in Northrend * [Extinguishing the Cataclysm](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=6013/extinguishing-the-cataclysm) - Desecrate the Horde's bonfires in zones opened by the cataclysm * [Extinguishing Outland](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=1030/extinguishing-outland) - Desecrate the Horde's bonfires in Outland * [Extinguishing Kalimdor](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=1029/extinguishing-kalimdor) - Desecrate the Horde's bonfires in Kalimdor * [Extinguishing Eastern Kingdoms](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=1028/extinguishing-eastern-kingdoms) - Desecrate the Horde's bonfires in Eastern Kingdoms * [Desecration of the Horde](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=1035/desecration-of-the-horde) - Complete all Extinguishing achievements: Cataclysm, Kalimdor, Outland, Eastern Kingdoms, and Northrend. * [Flame Warden of Kul Tiras](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=13341/flame-warden-of-kul-tiras) - Honor the flames of Kul Tiras * [Flame Warden of the Broken Isles](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=11280/flame-warden-of-the-broken-isles) - Honor the flames of the Broken Isles * [Flame Warden of Draenor](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=11283/flame-warden-of-draenor) - Honor the flames of Draenor * [Flame Warden of Pandaria](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=8045/flame-warden-of-pandaria) - Honor the flames of Pandaria * [Flame Warden of Northrend](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=6008/flame-warden-of-northrend) - Honor the flames of Northrend * [Flame Warden of Cataclysm](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=6011/flame-warden-of-cataclysm) - Honor the flames of the zones opened by the cataclysm * [Flame Warden of Eastern Kingdoms](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=1022/flame-warden-of-eastern-kingdoms#) - Honor the flames of Eastern Kingdoms * [Flame Warden of Kalimdor](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=1023/flame-warden-of-kalimdor) - Honor the flames of Kalimdor * [The Fires of Azeroth](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=1034/the-fires-of-azeroth) - Complete the Flame Warden achievements: Cataclysm, Kalimdor, Outland, Eastern Kingdoms, and Northrend * [Torch Juggler](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=272/torch-juggler) - juggle 40 torches in 15 seconds in Dalaran. * For this achievement you're going to: * buy 10 torches from the vendor * travel to Dalaran * put the torches on your action bar somewhere * point your camara straight down * spam that button on your action bar for the torches * [Burning Hot Pole Dance](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=271/burning-hot-pole-dance) - Dance at the ribbon Pole for 60 seconds while wearing completed Midsummer set. * [King of the Fire Festival](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=1145/king-of-the-fire-festival) - Complete the quest "A Thief's Reward" by stealing the flames from your enemy's capital cities * [Ice the Frost Lord](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=263/ice-the-frost-lord) - Slay Ahune in the Slave Pens * [The Flame Warden](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=1038/the-flame-warden) - Complete the Midsummer achievements - Reward 20 points and title Flame Warden #### Pets * Ice Chip - Drops from Frost Lord Ahune * Caputerd Flame - 350 Burning Blossoms * Blazing Cindercrawler - 350 Burning Blossoms * Igneous Flameling - 350 Burning Blossoms #### Transmog * Crown of the Fire Festival is given for A Thief's Reward * Frost Scythe of Lord Ahune - Holiday Dungeon * Illusion: Deathfrost - Holiday Dungeon * Sandals of Summer - Sets your feet on fire - 200 Burning Blossoms * Vestments of Summer - makes your character glow orange - 100 Burning Blossoms * Helm of the Fire Festival - a matching fiery halo - - 350 Burning Blossoms * Mantle of the Fire Festival - fire torch shoulders - 100 Burning Blossoms #### Toys * Brazier of Dancing Flames - 350 Burning Blossoms - A fiery draenai dances on the brazier; if you /dance with it you will also turn into a fiery dancing Draenai * Burning Defender's Medalion - 500 Burning Blossoms - Disguises you as a fire elemental * Cozy Bonfire - 350 burning blossoms - puts down a cooking fire * Set of Matches - 500 burning blossoms - sets you on fire * Fire Eater's Hearthstone - Another of the holiday hearth stones. This one you're holding a torch and shooting off fireworks while you hearth. * Battleground Bonus Event 2021/06/22 - 2021/06/29 * PvP Brawl: Cooking Impossible 2021/06/22 - 2021/06/29 * Torghast: Beasts of Prodigum 2021/06/29 - 2021/07/06 * Shadowlands Dungeon Event 2021/06/29 - 2021/07/06 * Release of 9.1 2021/06/29 * Darkmoon Faire 2021/07/04 - 2021/07/10 # Outro ## Reviews If you’d like to leave a review for us that would be super helpful. It makes this podcast easier to find for other listeners, especially on iTunes and the Warcraft Radio Podcast Directory. Please also consider sharing it with your guilds and friends that play WoW. ## Shout outs This episode we'd like to give a shout out to TomCat from TomCat's Tours. He's an independent addon developer that suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome as well as a host of other medical issues. If you can please donate to help him get through this rough time at his [website](tomcatstours.com) , or use your prime subscription on [Twitch](https://twitch.tv/tomcatstours) , or follow him on twitter [@tomcatstours]([https://twitter.com/TomCatsTours). We often forget that the addons that we use are created by people, some that are going through things we can't imagine. I really suggest reading his open letter on his website for details about what he has been going through. So if you're able to, give what you can. ## Contact information As always, please feel free to reach out to us on Twitter @wowgrats, email us wowgrats@gmail.com, visit us on our website wowgrats.com, and join us on our Discord server. You can go to discord.io/grats; we look forward to chatting with you there. Thanks for joining us today I'm Mud, and I'm Polly. Remember to celebrate your achievements, no matter how large or small.

# Episode 12 - Blackrock Buffoonery # Main  Last episode we covered The Blasted Lands, The Wetlands, and The Sunken Temple. This episode we are headed into the Burning Steppes and Blackrock Mountain. As a side note before we get started I'd like to point out our new format. We decided to switch things around a bit and make it a little bit more of a narrative instead of listing. Please let us know how you like the new format or if we should go back to the old format. ## Zone: Burning Steppes ### Lore Bite:  Make sure that you stop by Black Tooth Hovel and see the statue of Anduin Lothar whose sword points at Blackrock Mountain. This statue is theorized to be where he fell in battle after being ambushed by the Horde. ### Achievements: * [Burning Steppes Quests](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=4901/burning-steppes-quests)     * Preparation     * Anticipation     * Infiltration     * Annihilation      * [Explore Burning Steppes](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=775/explore-burning-steppes#) ``` /way 65.92 72.56 Blackrock Pass /way 72.64 66.55 Morgan's Vigil /way 77.42 52.32 Terror Wing Path /way 69.73 43.28 Dreadmaul Rock /way 58.18 38.04 Ruins of Thaurissan /way 39.83 55.24 Black Tooth Hovel /way 18.87 62.99 The Whelping Downs /way 10.04 29.71 Altar of Storms /way 21.22 43.38 Blackrock Mountain /way 32.66 35.10 Blackrock Stronghold ``` ### Pets #### Catchable These pets can be found throughout the zone. * Ash Viper * Cockroach * Fire Beetle * Lava Beetle * Lava Crab * Scorpid #### Rewards Tiny Flamefly - Alliance can get the quest "SEVEN! YUP!" by talking with Oralius `/way 71.8 68.0 Oralius`. Where as the Horde can get the quest "Not Fireflies, Flameflies" from Kibler `/way 55.0 22.4 Kibler` ## Sub-Zone: Blackrock Mountain This sub-zone is between Burning Steppes and the Searing Gorge. (We will be discussing the Searing Gorge in a later episode.) Blackrock Mountain is home to seven instances: Lower Blackrock Spire, Upper Blackrock Spire, Blackwing Lair, Blackrock Depths, Blackrock Caverns, Molten Core, and Blackwing Descent. ### Lore Bite: Blackrock Mountain is battled over by Ragnaros the Firelord and his Dark Iron minions and the Black Dragon Flight, including Nefarian and his orc minions. This mountain is actually a volcano created during the War of the Three Hammers when Thaurissan summoned Ragnaros from his prison. His rebirth shattered the northern part of Redridge Mountains and created the Searing Gorge and Burning Steppes. Blackrock Spire is the part of the mountain that is above ground and Blackrock Depths is underneath the mountain. ### Noteable Rare Drops * Overmaster Pyron drops the pattern Cloak of Fire (Tailoring) * The Behemoth drops a fist weapon called Vilerend Slicer * Chrome Hound patrols the outer circle of the zone ## Dungeon: Lower Blackrock Spire: Enter the gates of Blackrock Mountain at the southern face of the mountain, turn east at the center, and fly into the open window and head up the ramp. As you come into this area you follow it down and there is a portal into LBRS on the right. Originally this dungeon was a part of the same instance as Upper Blackrock Spire, but was separated in Cataclysm. With 9 bosses in just the lower half, it's a good thing they split them up. This dungeon is a mess and it's easy to get lost in. Blizzard has completely overhauled dungeon design since Vanilla. Lastly, before we go into the dungeon, I want to point out that Lower Blackrock Spire is the place you want to be if you're trying to loot Junkboxes for Ravenholt reputation. So if you plan to go for the Insane title you'll want to take your rogue to pickpocket the boxes. If you pickpocket around 250 mobs, the average number of boxes per run is in the low 20s. If your bags are clear before you start, assuming you have decent bags, you will be able to make 5 or so runs before you need to send the junkboxes to the character that is grinding the rep. You'll need to loot 1400+ junkboxes. You can also purchase these on the Auction House but that can get expensive quickly assuming stock is even available. I recommend you use the addon RepHelper, which can really help you gauge how much more you need to do before you complete the grind. I only need 1385 junkboxes myself... ### Lore Bite:  Lower Blackrock Spire was once home to the Dark Iron Clan. However, Nefarian and his flight took over the Spire with the help of Warchief Rend Blackhand and his horde. Check out Dungeon Fables episode 19 to get more lore on Lower Blackrock Spire. ### Achievements: * [Lower Blackrock Spire](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=643/lower-blackrock-spire#) - Defeat Overlord Wyrmthalak in Blackrock Spire ### Pets #### Drops * Worg Carrier - Drops off of Quartermaster Zigris awarding you with the Worg Pup, a beast-type pet. * Smolderweb Egg - Drops from Mother Smolderweb giving you the Smolderweb Hatchling, a beast-type pet. ### Noteable Rare Drops * The Blackrock Slicer - Drops off the Spirestone Battle Lord and looks like a really big old school razor blade on a stick. ### Walkthrough: Go down the ramp and take the corridor to the left. Follow the next room around in a U shape across the wooden bridges. Stay to the left and go into the ogre area. You have a chance at running into the Spirestone Butcher, Spirestone Lord Magus, and Spirestone Battle Lord. Continue on to kill Highlord Omokk. Make a u-turn and go out of this ogre area and head left. Follow the path down into an area inhabited by trolls. Go into the room straight across to kill Shadow Hunter Vosh'gajin. Once she is dead head back out of the room and head down the ramp to your right. If you go all the way across you'll run into a goblin named Bijou who has a quest chain. Head back in and continue all the way down the ramp this time. The room to the west has our next boss, War Master Voone. Once you've defeated him, head back out into the main area and go through the door in the northeast corner. Follow this area around. You'll have to traverse through some rocks and stones on your way. If you follow the path down toward the lava you'll see some adventurers that didn't survive. Head back up and continue around the path again. You'll know you're on the right track when you get to some spiders and their eggs. Follow the ramp up and kill Mother Smolderweb for a chance at a pet before crossing the beams. On the other side of the beams, there is Crystal Fang, another spider. Sadly, this boss doesn't have a pet. Keep following this path and you'll get to a doorway; follow the path up to the ogres. Take a hairpin left and continue on to the next doorway. Inside the doorway turn left and follow the hallway to Quartermaster Zigris. He has a group of orcs around him but they're an easy kill. When you head back down, go to the opposite end of the hallway to get to Halycon to the left. I encountered Gizul the Slavener after I defeated Halycon, but I'm not sure if it's a patrolling boss. Come out of the room and head across the hall and up the ramp. Make sure not to fall in the holes, and cross the boards at the end of the room. In the northwest corner I ran into Ghock Bashguud sleeping on the job and killed him with no problems. Turn around again and go into the doorway to the left side. Follow the ramp around and you'll run into our final boss, Overlord Wyrmthalak. Now you have to find your way out so we can get to Upper Blackrock Spire. Good luck with following the directions backwards. Or you can take a chance and jump off some cliffs to shorten your trip, but it gets confusing quickly. Either that or run on your mage and teleport back to Ironforge and fly back as close as you can get.    ## Dungeon: Upper Blackrock Spire Our next dungeon is way more straightforward. Make sure your dungeon difficulty is set to Heroic before you step into the instance. The entrance is up both sets of ramps to the north. This dungeon was redone during Warlords of Draenor. ### Lore Bite:  Garrosh's Iron Horde took over Upper Blackrock Spire in an attempt to stage an invasion of Azeroth and create a doomsday weapon to use against Stormwind City. ### Pets: * Lanticore Spawnling - Beside the second boss Kyrak, there is an rare boss named the Lanticore. He has a small chance of showing up. The only loot he has is this dragonkin pet. ### Achievements: This dungeon is way more straightforward. As you enter the dungeon, make sure you enter each room with a glowing sigil and kill all of the enemies in that room. Once you get all five, a door will open to our first boss, Orebender Gor'ashan. To start this encounter, kill all of the adds and open the traps around the room. * [Magnets, How Do They Work?](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=9045/magnets-how-do-they-work) - Defeat Orebender Gor'ashan without allowing him to cast Thundering Cacophany 4 times in Upper Blackrock Spire on Heroic difficulty.      * At max level just burst him down as quick as you can and boom, you've got this achievement.      * If you're doing this at level, his traps open at 75%, 50%, and 25%. The first time he opens 2 traps, then 4, and lastly 6. Each time you need to close the traps before he can cast Thundering Cacophany. Out of a possibility of 7 traps total, it's best to split your dps up to cover 2 traps each. Close them quickly and you'll get this, no problem. If you miss this achievement, try dpsing the boss slowly so that you can get in place at 76, 51, and 26 percent to be next to your traps. Exit out of the door to the east and continue on. In this room you've got some Dragonkin as well as our next boss, Kyrak. Kyrak doesn't have an achievement, but once she despawns you will find our beloved hero, Leeroy Jenkins! * [Leeeeeeeeeeeeeroy...?](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=9058/leeeeeeeeeeeeeroy) - Assist Leeroy Jenkins in recovering his Devout shoulders in Upper Blackrock Spire on Heroic difficulty. You'll need to bring a healer with you to resurrect him. After he is up, there's some funny dialogue and you're off to the races. Kill all of the bosses up to and including Son of the Beast before his timer runs out. There aren't any achievements in between here and there so if you're doing this at max level, it won't be a problem. Follow the ramp up and around. Make sure to kill all the mobs in every room on your way. You don't want poor Leeroy to die on his way. When you get to the east end of the room it dead-ends into a balcony. Go ahead and jump off and the encounter for Commander Tharbek will start. You'll need to defeat waves of enemies to complete this encounter. Eventually Tharbek's mount comes out. He will mount it. Just burn him and the mount down. You only have one exit and that's to the south, and then you're going to turn right. Kill the mobs in this room, turn to the left and head into the room with Son of the Beast. I've been hunting the fist weapon he drops since WoD off and on; it's not even particularly good looking but I've just always wanted it. Kill the Son of the Beast, a slobbering Corehound, and you've successfully finished the Leeroy gauntlet in time. Wait until he shows up, though, before you leave the room just to be safe. Once you get this achievement, you'll receive both the title "Jenkins" as a last name and Leeroy Jenkins as a follower in your WoD garrison to send on missions. (insert Leeroy Sounder Here) Exit back through the door and you'll come to a bridge with Ragewing the Untamed. * [Bridge Over Troubled Fire](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=9056/bridge-over-troubled-fire) - Kill 20 Ragewing Whelps in 10 seconds while fighting Ragewing the Untamed in Upper Blackrock Spire on Heroic difficulty.      * Ragewing takes flight at 70 and 30 percent. Don't kill the adds that she spawns the first time she takes off. After the second time another wave of whelps will show up. Gather them all together and aoe them down.      * I actually hit her too hard and it stopped my dps at 2 hp left. Both sets of adds spawned but I had to wait a bit. I killed them all and was able to get the achievement when she landed. Continue across the bridge after Ragewing is down and you'll head into a room. Kill the adds in here and head to our final boss of this dungeon, Warlord Zaela. If you already have Pepe from the WoD garrison make sure you put him on your head before you kill her. * [Heroic: Upper Blackrock Spire](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=9055/heroic-upper-blackrock-spire) - Defeat Warlord Zaela in Upper Blackrock Spire on Heroic difficulty. * [Dragonmaw? More Like Dragonfall!](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=9057/dragonmaw-more-like-dragonfall) - Kill 5 Emberscale Ironflight before defeating Warlord Zaela in Upper Blackrock Spire on Heroic difficulty.     * You might want to use a weaker spell or hit to get her down to 55-60% and drakes will spawn. Kill 5 of them to get this achievement. I got her down to about 5% on one hit so be careful, or use a Whole Body Shrinka to reduce damage.  * [Mythic: Upper Blackrock Spire](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=10085/mythic-upper-blackrock-spire) - Defeat Warlor Zaela in Upper Blackrock Spier on Mythic difficulty.     * Same dungeon, just do it again on mythic. Or take a day off and do it later. We're not judging. But if you wanted to you can do it back to back. You can return to the entrance and head to our first ever Raid! If you haven't already stopped to clear out your bags, now would be a good time to do that. You can summon a vendor mount on the balcony that you flew to and landed on at the Spires. Once you're done clearing your bags turn back around, but this time, instead of going up the ramp take a right down the hallway. At the end of the hallway you'll see a winged orb; touch it and it'll take you into Blackwing Lair. ## Raid: Blackwing Lair Our first Raid! Sadly it's one without many achievements. But, it's a Vanilla raid. ### Lore Bite:  This dungeon is named after Deathwing's eldest son Nefarian, who is also known as Blackwing. Nefarian uses Blackwing Lair to experiment on dragons, trying to combine them to creat a chromatic dragonflight to have unstoppable warriors. Check out Dungeon Fables episode 25 for more lore behind this dungeon. ### Achievements: * [Blackwing Lair](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=685/blackwing-lair) - Defeat Nefarian * [Dress in Lairs](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=11742/dress-in-lairs#) - Collect any class armor sets from Blackwing Lair     * The bosses of Blackwing Lair have a chance to drop Tier 2 pieces. You can get all of them from Blackwing Lair except the pants which drop off of Ragnaros, who we will cover next episode. ### Pets #### Drops (3) * Untamed Hatchling - Drops from Razorgore the Untamed in an unscathed egg. * Death Talon Whelpguard - Drops from Broodlord Lashlayer, the Blackwing Banner containing this dragonnkin pet.  * Chrominius - Drops off of Chromaggus as the Whistle of Chromatic Bone. This is a key pet for any pet battle team. If you don't have one, I would run this raid on multiple characters until I get it if you're interested in pet battles at all. ### Noteable Rare Drops * Dragon's Touch - A wand that drops off of Flamegor is a unique design that I haven't seen elsewhere in game.  * Ashkandi - This 2H sword drops off of Nefarion ### Extras This raid drops items from the Tier 2 set. These iconic sets are Stormrage for Druids, the Warrior Wrath set, Judgment for Paladins, and sets for all the other Vanilla classes as well. ### Walkthrough: As you enter the first room, you can see Razorgore the Untamed being controlled by an orc using the orb of command. Use the orb to control Razorgore the Untamed. Use his abilities to destroy the eggs in the room. After you destroy all of them you'll lose control, then you kill the boss. While running this raid for our show notes as a 60 mage I was not interrupted by any of the adds while controlling the boss. This used to be a pain but I'm glad they've fixed it. Once the boss is down, exit from the door opposite from where you entered. You'll come across Vaelastraz the Corrupt who is in the process of being corrupted by Nefarian. Once Nefarian leaves the room you'll be able to attack this boss. Once she is down you can go up the stairs on either side of the room, walk around the hall and exit into a room with black dragon kin. Kill them and follow the ramps around and you'll come into a room with a bunch of pylons and dragonkin. These pylons used to slow you down but now they don't seem to have any effect. At the end of this gauntlet is Broodlord Lashlayer. In the next room there is a patrolling boss called Firemaw. You'll make quick work of him, then keep following the route to Ebonroc. Before you move on from killing Ebonroc, make sure you take time to kill Master Elemental Shaper Krixix if you're a miner. He can drop a book called "Goblin's Guide to Elementium". Our next ramp takes us up to a room with a bunch of dead dragons and our next boss Flamegor. It's a straight forward fight. Kill him and move into the next room. You'll have to switch a lever to get our next boss and our way out. After you kill Chromaggus the door oposite takes us to our final boss Nefarian. Walk across the open area and talk to Nefarian in order to start the fight. There's some lore there if you're interested. Walk to his shadow twice; then he will come and fly down onto the edge of the balcony. Once you take him out make sure you take time to sit on his throne. You can get a quest item to take Nefarian's head back to your capital city. String that scaley boy up. # This fortnight in WoW ## Calendar * World Quest Bonus Event: 2021/06/08 - 2021/06/15:  * PvP Brawl: Warsong Scramble: 2021/06/08 - 2021/06/15: * Mists of Pandaria Timewalking Dungeon Event: 2021/06/15 - 2021/06/22:      * Yu'lei, Daughter of Jade Mount can be purchased for 5000 timewalking badges; it is a gorgeous mount     * Infinite Hatchling is a Serpent Dragonling Pet that can be bought for 2200 timewarped badges     * Paradox Spirit is a black pandaria elemental spirit that sells for 2200 timewarped badges     * Adopted Puppy Crate Toy sells for 1000 timewarped badges     * Portable Yak Wash Toy sells for 500 time warped badges # Outro Next episode we are going to be covering the rest of the Blackrock Mountain instances: Blackrock Depths, Blackrock Caverns, Molten Core, and Blackrock Descent. ## Reviews Review on Twitter: Krucifixx ArgentDawn - @KrucifixxA @WowGrats cant leave review on spotify so using this format. Quick listen weekly podcast that gives you a recap of World Of Warcraft zones and achievements/collectibles you may encounter as you level throughout Azeroth. Great job keep up the good work 5/5 Thank you so much, Krucifixx. We really appreciate it! ## Shout outs This episode we'd like to give a shoutout to Co-Optimally. Polly and I recorded an episode of Achievements Against Azeroth a little bit ago, and we had a great time. If you'd like to check out his work you can follow him on Twitter @CoOptimally and twitch.tv/CoOptimally. I'll also include a link for his youtube channel in the shownotes and on the website. Be sure especially to check out the episode with Deme from Third Faction and Sil from Whispers of War which was hilarious. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwaKWgMSh-iIxCsKdmbwUXg ## Contact information As always please feel free to reach out to us on Twitter @wowgrats, email us at wowgrats@gmail.com, and visit us on our website, wowgrats.com. You can join us on our discord server at [discord.io/grats](https://discord.io/grats); we look forward to chatting with you there. Our next episode will be half a year that we have been doing this podcast. So to celebrate we have a pet, Sand Scarab, from the WoW trading card game that we will be giving away. To enter join our discord server and post your favorite marine animal in our contest channel. The contest closes June 25th. Our winner will be selected from members of the server and announced next episode. Thanks for joining us today, I'm Mud, and I'm Polly. Remember to celebrate your achievements no matter how large or small.

# Episode 11: Pesky Portal ## Question of the Week With Burning Crusade Classic on the horizon: Are you planning on keeping your character on Classic, moving them to a Burning Crusade server, or paying to have them in both spots? @BriccoStud: I will be sending Bricco and all my toons to TBC, but I'm pondering paying for Bricco to remain in classic also.... I've not seen any raid content in Vanilla as yet. @CoOptimally: Straight into tbc for me. And even though tbc is probably my favourite xpac...when it's time for wotlk I'll be straight into that as well @jaredrpg: Going TBC all the way. If I get the itch to play legacy, I can always go back and level another character, but I don't see myself doing that aaaaaaaanytime soon. @scrubsvs: TBC for all of my toons. If I want to play classic again I will re-roll and start fresh Mud answer: I don't think I am going to move my Dwarf Rogue over for the time being. But I did already start a Draenai Shaman. Polly answer: I'm not really sure what I'm going to do. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with our moving preparations and I'll be heading back to work soon, so I think I'm going to sit on this decision for now. We will resume episode questions after we get moved which is going to be a few episodes. # Main ## Zone: Blasted Lands ### Lore Bite: The Blasted Lands was once a marshland called the Black Morass, which extended all the way north into the Swamp of Sorrows. The area was twisted when the Orcish Horde entered Azeroth through the Dark Portal. A small Gilnean town named Surwich was added in Cataclysm. It was founded by the followers of Marl Wormthorn who tried to heal the Blasted Lands. Garrosh used the Dark Portal to bring alternate Draenor Iron Horde to Azeroth turning the Dark Portal from green to red. If you want to see the older version of the Blasted Lands talk to Zidormi at the entrance to the zone in the North which includes visiting any of the vendors in the zone. ### Achievements:  * [Blasted Lands Quests](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=4909/blasted-lands-quests)     * Razelikh     * The Tainted Forest     * Avenging the Rockpool * [Explore Blasted Lands](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=766/explore-blasted-lands) ``` Dreadmaul Hold /way 43, 13 Garrison Armory /way 55, 13 Nethergarde Keep /way 63, 19 Serpent's Coil /way 63, 32 The Dark Portal /way 59, 56 Altar of Storms /way 39, 32 Dreadmaul Post /way 48, 43 The Tainted Scar /way 42, 59 Rise of the Defiler /way 48, 27 ``` ### Pets #### Catchable * Adder - Found in the northwest near the Altar of Storms * Fire Beetle - Found all over * Scorpid - Found all over * Scorpling - Found in the hills south of the Dark Portal * Spider - Found near Surwich and in the Tainted Forest #### Drop * Bronze Whelpling #### Rewards Iron Starlette - A small spikey mechanical wheel. A must have for any pet battler. This should be one of the first you level. ### Noteable Rare Drops * Flawless Draenethyst Sphere - has a 50% drop from the rares in the zone but it can drop from any mob in Blasted Lands.     * Cow King's Hide - Leather Chest     * Warmonger - 2H Sword - red and deathy     * Cassandrea's Grace - Cloth Helm - Nice simple tiara     * Blade of the Titans - 2h Sword - orange and chonky     * Hanzo Sword - 1h sword     * Mug O' Hurt - 1h mace     * 46 total blue BoE items * Imperfect Draenethyst Sphere - if you don't get the flawless from a rare you'll get this. There are 51 green quality items to get. ### Extras You can fish up the 19 pound salmon for the achievement One That Didn't Get Away but sadly it is not transmogable ## Zone: Swamp of Sorrows ### Lore Bite:  The green dragons that served Ysera fill this zone, guarding the The Temple of Atal'Hakkar. The temple was built from a faction of trolls called the Atal'ai. The orcish settlement of Stonard was the Horde's main outpost during the First War. ### Achievements: * [Swamp of Sorrows Quests](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=4904/swamp-of-sorrows-quests)     * Bogpaddle     * The Bloodmire     * The Shifting Mire     * The Sunken Temple * [Explore Swamp of Sorrows](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=782/explore-swamp-of-sorrows) ``` /way 18.01 68.86 Purespring Cavern /way 21.24 51.61 Splinterspear Junction /way 18.60 37.94 Misty Valley /way 28.87 34.45 The Harborage /way 37.50 46.02 The Shifting Mire /way 46.47 52.96 Stonard /way 69.00 76.48 Stagalbog /way 81.44 87.82 Misty Reed Strand /way 83.80 52.27 Pool of Tears /way 84.16 39.70 Sorrowmurk /way 69.19 37.07 Marshtide Watch /way 71.90 15.52 Bogpaddle ``` ### Pets #### Catchable * Huge Toad - Near the Harborage * Parrot - All over * Swamp Moth - All over * Strand Crab - Along the coast * Toad - In the northern half of the zone * Moccasin - All over near the water areas of the swamp * Water Snake - All over near the water areas of the swamp #### Rewards * Disgusting oozeling - from oozes, slimes, and worms ### Noteable Rare Drops   * Molt Thorn /way 50, 41     * Drops Living Cowl - Cloth Head ## Dungeon: Sunken Temple (Temple of Atal'Hakkar) Check out Dungeon Fables Episode 18 for more information about the Temple of Atal'Hakkar ### Lore Bite:  The priests of the troll tribe Atal'ai built this temple to bring back the blood loa Hakkar into the world of the living. Ysera learned about the temple and sunk it beneath the marshes. Now the Atal'ai priests sacrifice green dragons in order to bring Hakkar's avatar into Azeroth. This dungeon has four bosses: * Avatar of Hakkar - You may remeber we covered Hakkar in our last episode, this is his avatar. Hakkar also appears in De Other Side, Trial of the Champion, and in the BFA dungeon Kings Rest where priests created a golden construct to defend the tomb. But in this dungeon we fight it's avatar which is a spirit that haunts the temple waiting to be reborn. Hakkar demands sacrifices from his followers. * Jammal'an the Prophet - A dungeon troll who is accompanied by Ogom the Wretched. He is the leader of the Atal'ai priests that fanatically worship Hakkar . * Wardens of the Dream - These green dragons were tainted by the Emeral Nightmare. They patrol the Sunken Temple. Dreamscythe, Weaver, Hazzas, and Morphaz are children of our last boss. * Shade of Eranikus - This green dragon was formerly a consort to Ysera. She tasked him to guard the temple in the Swamp of Sorrows; however he went insane inside the temple. ### Achievements * [Sunken Temple](https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=641/sunken-temple#) - Defeat Shade of Eranikus ### Noteable Rare Drops * Leather working patterns drop from the green dragonkin:     * Green Dragonscale Leggings      * Green Dragonscale Breastplate # This fortnight in WoW ## Calendar * Cataclysm Timewalking Dungeon Event 2021/05/25 - 2021/06/01     *  As with all Timewalking Events, you have a chance to loot the Reins of the Infinite Timereaver from any boss.      *  The dungeons you'll come across during Timewalking are: End Time, Grim Batol, Lost City of the Tol'vir, The Stonecore, The Vortex Pinnacle and Throne of Tides.      *  Remember that in The Stonecore there is also a chance at the Vitreous Stone Drake Mount, and in the Vortex Pinnacle there is a chance at the Drake of the North Wind mount. * PvP Brawl: Gravity Lapse 2021/05/25 - 2021/06/01       * A version of Eye of the Storm that is 15 vs 15. Periodically players are flung up into the air for 3 seconds. Too bad we didn't have this during children's week or they'd have been flung through the cosmos. * Glowcap Festival 2021/05/27 - 2021/05/28      * Help the sporeggar keep Fshoo alive by collecting different kinds of mushrooms by looting in Zangramarsh.      * For each stack of Fshoo Grow that Fshoo has when it dies, you will get 50 sporeggar reputation. Fshoo Grow maxes out at 255 stacks.     * This is a great time to finish your Sporeggar reputation grind which will help you get the Tiny Sporebat pet, the Sporeggar Tabard, and other faction rewards. * Torghast: Unbridled Darkness 2021/06/01 - 2021/06/08      * Torghast event where players can choose to run Torghast in the darkness. Best if you have partners to run with. * Arena Skirmish Bonus Event 2021/06/01 - 2021/06/08       * Unranked pvp arena. You can queue alone or with up to 2 party members.      * Ratings will not be affected by wins or losses.     * If you pick up the quest in Oribos, you can get bonus Conquest and Honor. * Thousand Boat Bash 2021/06/06 - 2021/06/09      * In Thousand Needles there will be a boat party. There are quests to do repairs.     * Once you complete the all the quests, you can get an item called Small Boat. It grants the player the ability to use a boat on the water's surface. The item isn't consumed but it expires after 7 days.      * If you intend to go, then travel to your capital city portal room. Then go to the caverns of time. Then fly over to Thousand Needles. That's the fastest way to get there.    # Outro This episode is rather short but unfortunately there wasn't much to cover in the way of achievements and other collectables. Many of the classic zones don't have a bunch of rewards so some episodes will be shorter than others. ## Reviews If you'd like to leave a review for us that would be super helpful. It makes this podcast easier to find for other listners, especially on iTunes and the Warcraft Radio Podcast Directory. ## Shout outs  Warcraft Radio - @warcraftradio - Warcraftradio.com hosts a bunch of shows like For Azeroth, Girls Gone WoW, Realm Maintenance, You Think You Do But You Don't, But Wait There's Lore, and more. They are also responsible for hosting the Podcast Directory of WoW podcasts and podcasts for other Blizzard titles. ## Contact information As always please feel free to reach out to us on Twitter @wowgrats, email us wowgrats@gmail.com, visit us on our website wowgrats.com, and join us on our discord server; the link is on our website and in the show notes and we look forward to chatting with you there. Thanks for joining us today and remember to celebrate your achievements no matter how large or small.